The present application relates to a removable pick module for use in a sheet feeding office machine such as a printer, photocopier or high capacity paper feeder. More particularly, the present application relates to a removable pick module assembly for use in a sheet feeding office machine and a method for inserting and removing said module assembly and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the removable pick module assembly and method may relate to other similar environments and applications.
Pick system rollers generally have more wear issues than any other rollers in a sheet feeding machine and, therefore, are the most likely to require replacement during the life of a sheet feeding office machine. In some prior art sheet feeding machines, the rollers were permanently mounted to shafts which required a service technician to disassemble the product to replace the rollers. More recently, some manufacturers have made the pick rollers in their machines removable so that they can be replaced by the user. However, this process can often be difficult and non-intuitive. Further, this process may still require the user to obtain additional service support.
In some products, the rollers are replaced by lifting a tab on a roller hub and sliding the roller off a shaft. This is often difficult, particularly, when the roller is deep inside a printer. In such products as auto document feeders, where access can be gained from above, some designs allow two or three rollers to be replaced simultaneously by combining them into a pick module. These pick modules are, however, still often difficult to be replaced by a user without additional service support. Moreover, when access from above is unavailable, such as in some printer devices, these designs may fail to allow user replacement. Thus, there is a need for a replaceable pick module, usable with sheet feeding devices where access may not be available from above the device, that can be installed and removed by a user in a relatively easy manner.